My 60 Favorite International Cities, Pt. 1: #60 - 31

 I like that this is a living, breathing document since I first wrote my Top-20 cities back in 2013. Anyway, we're up to 70-now, and in reality, if I remembered more about my trips in 1999-2001 to Europe, I probably could have added quite a bit more.

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The last time I did this was in 2015, and since then I've added a few more cities to the list. Not as many as you would think, but enough to warrant another go at it. I didn't have 5 more to add, but a couple and I'm really opposed to dropping anything off, so I'm just going to go to 32.

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The last time I did this was late in 2013, following my Round the Trip world. I don't know why I'm choosing now to update the list, but it is now expanded to 30 cities, and adds four new places that I've visited the last two years, and then an additional forgotten gem from my Round the World Trip.

Again, these are ranked as cities I would visit (all of them I have visited), not where I would live. I would live in Geneva, but probably not visit again because there isn’t much to do, it is cold, and some other reasons. There are places that I wish I could rank because from what I’ve heard from family/friends that have been there they seem really good, like Moscow, Berlin and Hamburg, and when I visit them, I will update this list. Also irrelevant is the ease of getting to this city. Singapore isn’t hurt because it is the farthest commonly visited location from NYC than any other place, and London isn’t helped because it is 6 hours away.

A city includes sites and destinations that are a reasonable distance away, so Barcelona won’t get credit for the Playas that are 2-3 hours away (and are closer to Valencia), and Athens won’t get credit for Ephesus which is 3 hours away, but London would get credit for Stratford (or whatever it’s called where Shakespeare is from, or Oxford – and Rome gets credit for the Vatican, which for being a different country, is totally part of Rome) which is reasonably close.

60.) Da Lat (2013)

The little hamlet high above the Vietnamese hills, Da Lat was probably the most pleasant surprise of any place on my RTW trip. The city itself is modeled after European cities, with parks, downtown circles and even a model Eiffel Tower. The surrounding areas houses more traditional Vietnamese fair, like temples, Buddhas, waterfalls and even roller coasters, all underneath a cool mountain air. Da Lat's hills hide many nice restaurants, bars and clubs. It isn't nearly as loud or as famous as Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang or Hanoi, but Da Lat may be the most pure mix of Asia and Europe that I have seen. Also, it has an incredibly nice airport given the just six flights that fly there each day.



59.) Kuala Lumpur (2013)

Our first day in Kuala Lumpur, I hated it. We didn't really plan much to do and aimlessly went around. The second day, where we had a plan, it became a lot better. There are a few standout sites, like the Menara KL, the Petronas Towers, the Bird Park. The food was excellent, from down home Malaysian cooking, to fancier places. The shopping is quite nice. There are myriad cooler cities in Southeast Asia, but when you give KL a chance, it really starts to shine.

58.) Warsaw (2014)

Warsaw may have gone higher had I spent more time there, but like many other European countries, the capital is often a bit too commercial, a bit too gray, than the smaller pearls of cities (like Krakow, for Poland). Warsaw has some great sites, like its main street and clock tower, the palace, and I'm sure a whole host of others I forgot about or didn't have time to visit, but it is a bit lost in a city a bit too big for its own good. The food is decent, but what I really want to commend is its bar scene. There were some great gastropubs and beer bars that littered across the Warszawa Central district.


57.) Belgrade (2017)

In 20 years, Belgrade may deserve a spot well up this list, but for now for a city on the rise it gets on. For advantages, Belgrade is cheap, it houses some nice history, really good restaurants, and a great bar and club scene. For negatives, none of these things are marketed well enough. Belgrade should continue to grow, and as it does it will replace dirty streets with cleaner ones, complete the renovation on its main church, and just overall work on the edges. Then again, I kind of like a city that can still have cool ass floating clubs with affordable bottle service.


56.) Jeonju (2022)

Jeonju was not even supposed to be on my Korea trip itinerary, a secondary choice after my primary place of Busan was taken away from me due to a typhoon. Busan maybe would have ranked higher (same with Jeju, also axed for the same reason). But anyway, I went, and found a lot to like. The Hanok Village, showcasing a modern take of traditional Korean architecture and livign was lovely. The bibimbap, made famous in Jeonju itself, was a great addition itself. The sites aren't world beating, but nice enough, from the Gyeongijjeon, to the Wibongsa temple in the outlying mountains, to fill a couple days easily. Jeonju is known as the "traditional" tourist home of Korea, and that traditionality is fully earned, warranted, and lovely.

55.) Penang (2013)

There are positives and negatives to Penang, and depending how important the positives are relative to the negatives to you, Penang could rise or fall on your rankings. Personally, food and culture are really important to me, and Penang has both in spades. It may be a little overrated with food, but the seafood night markets that litter both Georgetown (the main city) and the beaches (all within an hour or so from Georgetown) are wonderful. The Nyonya food in Penang is far better than that in Kuala Lumpur. There is enough to see, including a nice little trek in Georgetown to some interesting historical buildings (the Cheong Fat Tze is a nice highlight). Of course, Penang is also very crowded, slightly dirty and the beaches themselves are quite barren. In the end, I find this fair for what I still consider a great eating spot.


54.) Positano (2019)

Positano may have ranked differently if we went a week later - after the start of their 'busy season'. Maybe it would have ended up higher because that's how most people see Positano, or maybe lower because the crowds and prices would have been unbearable. Anyway, Positano might be one of the prettiest towns I've ever visted, with incredible views from all directions, whether up top looking down and across, or down at sea level looking up to waves and waves of houses. Positano also had a slew of nice restaurants, shops and tourism fare, be it hikes or boating. Positano is also well connected to a bunch of other Amalfi Coast towns, be it Amalfi or Sorrento or otherwise. Nice town, but a bit too overpriced and popular (in the busy season, at least).


53.) Parma (2015)

Italy is the one country where I would love to just visit a lot of their secondary cities. Parma was a fantastic little slice of Italia. The food was excellent, and the eponymous cheese was even better. The balsamic was the cherry on top. Yes, Parma is almost fully a food tourism place. It also was a beautiful little town, replete with nice lanes serving drinks and good times late until the night. I wish I got more time in Parma to experience the life in the city.


52.) Cairo (2018)

My ranking of Cairo definitely includes Giza (about 30-60 min away, depending on traffic), and Saqqara, and adding to those two pyramid and druin complexes, if you add in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo has some truly top notch sites. Of course, my view of cities go beyond sites, and that is where Cairo starts to struggle, be it the lack of truly great food, the restrictive nightlife that puts most fun places out of the reach of solo travelers (the old 'couples only' rule). These things are important to me, particularly the food aspect, and Cairo doesn't stack up. It does with key sites though, and when you add in some nice neighborhoods, there is a chance I am being unfair here.


51.) Jaipur (2013)

I hated traveling in India in my limited tourist experience in India prior to Rajasthan. First was Agra, where the Taj was nice but completely offset by the filth of Agra. Kerala was a mess. Given those two, was not too excited to be going to Rajasthan, but I have to say it was great. Jaipur is slightly too touristy, with most of the city, at least as far as I could tell, built off Forts, Palaces, strange Astronomical objects, and of course shopping. For pure tourism, it is probably the best city in India, even if it gets a bit too hot at times.


50.) Johannesburg (2016, 2018)

I've flown into and out of Johannesburg three different times, but spent a total of one night and about two days in the city, seeing a few of the main sites, but in reality not enough to get a real true sense of the city. What Joburg does have are some nice sites like the Apartheid Museum, a few gentrified neighborhoods, some classy foods and areas, the nice lion safari on its outskirts. The negatives are its sheer size (it takes forever to get from place to place), and the danger. Now, that danger part is being unfair - Cape Town has a higher murder rate, though most of that is localized into slums - but when you drive through posh districts and suburbs and every street has barbed wire it gives a less than stellar impression.


49.) Munich (2000 & 2009)

I have a strange history with quite a few international cities, and Munich is another one. I had both my 9^th and 18^th Birthday in Munich (in related news, I’m pretty sure where you can find me on April 7^th, 2018 **editor's note: I was in Mexico City....**). The first during my initial trip to that part of the world, and the 2^nd on the penultimate day of our Orchestra’s tour of Austria (we flew out of Munich). Berlin is supposedly a great, modern city, but out of all the cities I have been to in Germany, Munich is by far the best. It is incredibly modern, and getting increasingly so, with modern architecture abound. It is the only European city with a skyline that can compare to those in the US (not a crucial factor, but still nice). The downside is there is little to see and that German food isn’t that good. Either way, Munich will always be the place to spend any birthday that is a multiple of nine, and for that alone, it gets on the list.


48.) Hanoi (2019)

If we average out the mess present at times in its clustered old town and the beauty of its large West Lake area, you get a truly great city. Hanoi is a bit more staid than its Vietnamese colleague in the South (further up the list), but it still has its charm. The lakes throughout city create a more atmosphere and some truly stunning temples and pagodas. The food, as it surely is thrughout Vietnam, is excellent. The beer flows well. There's nothing wrong with teh city, but there's no one feature that sets it apart.


47.) Siem Reap (2013)

Siem Reap is a one-stop town, in that the only real thing to see there is Angkor Wat, but do you know what (excuse the pun), that is enough to get it a spot on the list. Looking back at my time there, even the town itself of Siem Reap is quite nice - good restaurants, nice bars, enough to do when not lollygagging around the Angkor Wat complex. Anyway, that's not to say that it would be ranked had Angkor Wat been there. Angkor Wat is one of the better two day tourism sites I've ever been to, a parade of amazing history. It's an added bonus that they've developed the town enough to make the nights fun as well.


46.) Punta Arenas (2017)

It's odd that none of the Patagonia cities are that close to the sites that surround those areas, so they were hard to judge. Punta Arenas is probably the most substantial town of the three we visited, with an actual down-town, with nice ornate buildings and squares, The best part of the city is an unexplainable sense of being so far away from home, from anywhere, with Punta Arenas being the Southernmost city of more than 50,000 people. There are of course some nice restaurants and bars, and a good mix of locals and tourists, which created a nice atmosphere as well. Of course, with the Tierra del Fuego and Isla Magdalena Penguins within driving distance, the tourism isn't too bad either.

45.) Turin (2015)

Picking Turin allows me to count the Piedmont wine country, and those little towns that dot it. Turin the city though, is a understated version of how incredible Italy is. It has the requisite churches and squares, but also has the open palacial squares and river-fronts that you normally associate with other countries in Europe. It has some incredible little hamlets of food, with great options for eating throughout the day (some excellent tea joints). My favorite place in Turin actually wasn't one of the two main squares, but Piazza Vittorio Veneto, one that borders the river with an amazing view of the city behind it. It was the last place we went to in Turin, an incredible capper to an unexpected amazing day in a great city.

44.) Udaipur (2013)

As somehow who hated traveling in India, picking a city that is in one of the hottest areas in the country, and a city I visited during their hot dry season, this high might seem surprising. Well, I can't recommend Udaipur, along with Rajasthan as a hole, enough. The city has some beautiful scenery being built on a far more hilly area of the country than you would expect. They have famous lakes that hold famous hotels built on famous castles. They have nice food and street shows that line the corridors of the inner city. THere's the strange love for the movie Octopussy, where screenings are shown nightly. There's a beautiful palace inside the city. And I'll stretch my 'sites withing 1.5 hours count' rule by saying that the Jain Temple at Ranakpur was incredible - and in any modern country it would be within 1.5 hours.


43.) Split (2017)

There is so much to like about Split, be it the sprawling old town with enough sites and small alleys lined with shops and restaurant to keep you busy way too long, or the modern clubs and restaurants, or the sites from its hills. I guess in theory I can include the island of Hvar as well as that is within a 1-hour boat ride away, which adds beautiful beaches and mountains to this as well. Split as a whole might be a little too commercialized - they had a lot of stalls selling the normal tourist fares that aren't always appreciated, but the city truly is a beautiful slice of culture deep in Croatia. I do love how varied the drink and food scene is there as well.

42.) Izmir (2007)

I don't know how I forgot about Izmir the umpteen times that I have done this. I loved my trip to Turkey and for a while only had Istanbul on the list. I finally remembered how much I loved Izmir when I went back and saw an album. It was a pristine coastal town, with unbelievably fresh seafood, a lot of interesting Capadoccian sites nearby, and just a cool air about it. The food and the fun alone put it well up in my mind - and also makes it a place I absolutely want to return to.


41.) El Calafate (2017)

I have a few inexplicable choices on this list, and El Calafate, a more or less one-road town, might be at the top of those odd choices. I mean, literally 95% of the restaurants and shops are either on, or right off of, the main road. Of course, those restaurants and shops are fantastic, a great number of restaurants with fine Argentinean fare (Parilla's, and more earthern restraurants). Of course, the bars are great as well, from chic library-style cocktails, to an American craft beer oasis. However, none of that would place it on this list, but the irreplaceable Perito Moreno does. One of the greatest tourist joys of my life was walking around and then on that amazing, stunning glacier. A perfect mix of blues and whites, cascading chalks of ice, and the hoth-like conditions when traversing its face. All of it special.


40.) Aswan (2018)

Sadly, I can't list 'The Nile Cruise' as a city, because combining Luxor, Esna, Edfu and Aswan would probably deserve quite a higher spot. However, only the last of those (Edfu) is probably within the 90 minute range. Aswan is a nice city, with open streets, nice restaurants and hotels off of the Nile, architectural marvels both new (the Aswan Dam) and old (Phillae temple complex and Elephantine Island). When you add in the sites within its radius, it starts to glow as Egypt's less cluttered jewel.



39 & 38.) Prague/Budapest (2000)

These two are kind of blended together for me. I visited them essentially right after each other, both 13 years ago so my memory of each is a little hazy. I remember both for mainly positives. They are both beautiful cities, with lovely rivers running through them. They have some stuff to see, but not a whole lot. They are more affordable than the major cities in Western Europe, which is a plus (but also English –at least then – is not very transferrable to there). Budapest has some great food (Goulash!), while Prague is a pilgrimage for Catholics.

37.) Melbourne (2013)

Melbourne could be a Top-20 city to spend four or five days in. There is not too much to do, but enough to keep you occupied. If you like sports, which I do, then it is even better. Melbourne tries to lay claim to the Sporting Capital of the World, and when you mix together one of Tennis' four main tournaments with the 2nd most famous Cricket Ground (and most famous Aussie Rules ground) in the world right next door, it is hard to argue. Melbourne's riverfront is a beautiful area, with amazing views of the city around it. It's food options are endless, with really good Asian cuisine throughout the city. The nightlife seemed nice enough. It also has some really beautiful scenery around an hour of its boundaries, with beautiful parks, wine regions and the Great Ocean Road. Add into that Philipp Island, which just hits the cutoff to be included with Melbourne, and you get a solid, Top-40 city.


36.) Panama City (2012)

I went to Panama with really low expectations, and I was blown away. It has a really impressive skyline, one that holds its own even if you forget that it is a poor latin country. It has great food of different cuisines. It has a ton to see, with the Panama Canal and the rainforest both falling into its sights. Other than Calgary (which I talked about in the last list) I don’t know if any trip I’ve gone on has been such a surprise as Panama, the Caribbean’s only truly modern city.


35.) Phnom Penh (2013)

I lied when I said that Da Lat was the biggest surprise of my Round the Worldtrip. Phnom Penh was. I wasn't expecting too much from Canbodia's capital, but the mix of history, good and bad, food, nightlife and surprising urbanity made Phnom Penh a real highlight for me. I really loved Cambodian food, and it was at its best in Phnom Penh, a perfect mix of Malay and Thai cuisine. Phnom Penh itself embraced its own history, not shying away from the terrible acts of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, maintaining multiple areas in the city to pay tribute to those who died. The rest of the city pays tribute to the rich culture of Cambodia that preceded the destruction, with large pagodas in beautiful parks and nice museums. Phnom Penh also has a nice riverfront area that is really, really lively at night. Add into all of this that the currency of choice in the Dollar, and you get a really nice, underrated city.

34.) Luang Prabang (2019)

There may be no better small three road town than Luang Prabang, a well manicured slice of Laotian heaven deep on the banks of the Mekong. The place is built for tourists, but expertly combines Western modernity in their restaurants and bars, and Eastern serenity. The amount of temples within this small town is truly incredible, all quite well adorned and decorated. The Laotian cuisine is always a hit. Much like another town on the list in El Calafate, its main street is so full of life. From what I know, unless you want to get really down and dirty, this is as good as Laos gets.

33.) Goa (2011, 2013, 2015)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, my initial ranking of Goa was a little ridiculous. It was built off of an admittedly awesome trip to Goa in 2011, but that was a perfect storm. We were staying in the best part of Goa for a first timer who loves food on beaches at 2 AM. I was fresh off of an alcohol cleanse (which of course came after the opposite of an alcohol cleanse), and was greeted with $0.50 beer. Goa still has all those things, but I quickly realized upon my second visit that the area of Goa you stay in makes a huge difference. Stay too far South and you get isolated beaches, which I am sure are nice to some, but they don't have the same nightlife and food options littering the beach. Instead, they have litter littering the beach. Stay in the right part of Goa and it is amazing, the wrong part and it is merely OK. Still, it is unlike anything else in India, and for that it will always be in my part.

32.) Bilbao & 31.) San Sebastian (2021)

Another combination, this time not because I can't truly remember the difference (like Prague & Budapest), but because they're similar. Both cities have beautiful little old towns just jam packed with Pintxo Bar after Pintxo bar. Both cities have truly world class restaurants as well, including Azurmendi which was a truly amazing experience. They have nice coasts, great scenery and beaches, and so much else. Gun to my head, I would pick San Sebastian, whose old town is a little more cozy and inviting. Bilbao is slightly bigger, with its larger churches and museums, and open squares, but honestly I would gladly go back to either, two gastronomic capitals of the world. Especially would love to go back in a time where we have some ability to go out at night, as the few instances of being out until 1:30am belied towns with great drinks, pretty good craft beer, and a love of dancing. Honestly, the basque region is awesome.

2022 NFL: Week 12 Power Rankings & The Rest

Tier I - The "Bo Nix Maybe...." Duo

32.) Houston Texans  =  1-8-1  (159-230)

31.) Carolina Panthers  =  3-8  (207-256)

I'll give the Panthers defense credit - they didn't sell the farm in a tanking job, and the defense has remained really strong. Of course, the offense is aimless garbage, but maybe that is exactly the recipe the Panther should want. There's a huge morass of temas at three losses, so the Panthers need these type of performances to both (1) show it makes sense to not trade all the good young defenders and (2) still end up with a top pick. As for the Texans - well, this is what we all thought they were going to be. The Mills experience has to be on its last legs, at least in the sense of anyone thinking he could be the long term answer.

Tier II - The "Signs of Life" Duo

30.) Pittsburgh Steelers  =  3-7  (170-244)

29.) Chicago Bears  =  3-8  (241-274)

The Steelers offense for the first time in a while looked quite good - especially the connection with Pickett to Pickens - at least until the WR went out. It seems already quite clear that Kenny Pickett's ceiling is more or less where people thought it would be (not high), but they kept it moving. The defense even with TJ Watt back is just not talented enough right now to avoid them ending up with a high draft pick. For the Bears, they've perfected now the great formula of Justin Fields having a good game, showing more signs of promise, with their offense scoring 20+ points, and the Bears losing. That dominant on all sides of the ball win over the Patriots wasn't a mirage - but I don't know if Bears fans are unhappy they see some brilliance from Fields in another loss.

Tier III - The "Sad, Aimless, Wandering the Desert" Quinto

28.) Cleveland Browns  =  3-7  (240-269)

27.) Las Vegas Raiders  =  3-7  (225-242)

26.) Los Angeles Rams  =  3-7  (168-227)

25.) Denver Broncos  =  3-7  (147-171)
24.) Arizona Cardinals  =  4-7  (240-296)

What a mess. The Browns at least have the specter of He Who Shall Not Be Named coming back in a couiple weeks, but are probably out of any reasonable playoff race at this point. That defense has just cratered this season. The Raiders got a nice win but are too far gone and there's already rumblings about Carr's long term status as starter, which given how things went with McNasty the first go around is generally the first sign of an impending meltdown. The Rams are quietly putting up one of the worst Super Bowl defenses ever. The last sub-.500 defending champ was the 2002 Buccaneers, who at least were much better than their 7-9 record. This team is just not good. For the Broncos, its amazing how much they're wasting a great defense. Finally with Arizona, the only reason they are on the top of this grouping is that I have a little benefit of doubt with Kyler not playing and Nuke looking pretty great since coming back.

Tier IV - The "2% less Sad, Aimless, etc." Trio

23.) Indianapolis Colts  =  4-6-1  (173-220)

22.) New Orleans Saints  =  4-7  (249-267)

21.) Green Bay Packers  =  4-7  (202-243)

I actually think we have decent stratification between "good" and "bad" by now, but its teams like these three that make people say that the quality in the league is super low. The Colts have a good defense, but their offense is just so broken, starting with the black hole that has been the LT position. They are not able to get any consistency on offense. For the Saints, they should be better but sticking with Dalton, while it paid off yesterday, to me is the wrong move by this point. The division isn't totally gone, but basically comes down to a MNF game in a couple weeks where they go to Tampa. For the Packers, it's over - the Wild Card race has left them by now. And I think a lot of the league, especially NFC opponents, are going to have fun taking swings at a pitiful, old, bully.

Tier V - The "Maybe something's building??" Duo

20.) Jacksonville Jaguars  =  3-7  (216-205)

19.) Detroit Lions  =  4-6  (250-282)

Ever since their back to back wins of 24-0 and 38-10, I was amused by how long those two wins could basically keep them with a positive point differential. The similarities to Pederson's 2016 Eagles are screaming at this point: a lot of close losses, a couple big wins, an overall point differential way better than their record. Do the Jags have the makings of a 14-3 team in 2023? Probably not, but already they're my 2023 AFC South pick. For the Lions, the offense is back! At this point, I don't know what they're three-year plan would be centering on Goff, but it will be interesting to see how they navigate it. Hutchinson is every bit the monster people thought he was when the Lions got him at #2 overall.

Tier VI - The "Soft Underbelly of the League" Quadro

18.) Atlanta Falcons  =  5-6  (259-274)

17.) Los Angeles Chargers  =  5-5  (227-258)

16.) Washington Commanders  =  6-5  (214-223)

15.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  =  5-5  (183-180)

The four teams at or closest to .500 are also the four teams that I would think are the most "average" in the NFL right now. The Falcons are the most "fun" to watch just because their offense has a certain way of playing that generally works. Patterson back is a real add to their dynamism. For the Chargers, getting Allen and Williams back is huge, but their defense just doesn't have enough right now beyond Mack adn Derwin. The Commanders and Buccaneers are similar teams to me - teams that were bad at the start of the season that are currently in moderate hot streaks mostly due to players that were already there just starting to play better. If that continues, they can go on runs. If not, this may be just the vagaries of the season - with couple game winning streaks paired with couple game losing streaks - as what happens.

Tier VII - The "Tenuous Hold on New York" Duo

14.) New York Jets  =  6-4  (199-186)
13.) New York Giants  =  7-3  (205-204)

You may look at this past weekend as the week where both New York teams got exposed. Both teams remain (1) well coached and (2) good defensively, to not die so fast to escape the playoff race for a bit, but both these games were depressing. For the Jets, its mostly down to Zach Wilson being pretty close to a full bust at this point. The accuracy is just too much to get around. For the Giants, part of the issue is for sure Daniel Jones, who is teetering on the edge of getting an extension - but more than him its the injuries to skill players finally catching up to them. There is just not enough to consistently move the ball. Both may have banked enough wins to sneak into the playoffs, but it will be #7 seed (#6 seed at best) instead of something more threatening.

Tier VIII - The "Better or Worse than you Think" Trio

12.) New England Patriots  =  6-4  (213-169)
11.) Seattle Seahawks  =  6-4  (257-241)
10.) Tennessee Titans  =  7-3  (193-185)

The Patriots defense is incredible at one particular thing: dominating anything less than good offenses. Against good offenses, including Fields/Bears 2.0, they've struggled, especially at the LB level, but anything less and they're dominant. That's good, because hte offense is not good. The injuries on the OL haven't helped, but Jones is also playing way too risk free for this to work longer term. For the Seahawks, let's see if their rough game against the Bucs was a 1-week Germany mirage, or a start of a way of teams attacking them - namely pounding them on the ground. The offense has enough track record at this point to be trusted. For the Titans, they are what they are - a team that knows exactly what it is and is extremely well coached for game situations and defensively in general. Tannehill back should help, as the rookie Wills offense had clear limitations. The division is theirs, but a tough non-division back half of hte schedule could push them down in terms of seeding.

Tier IX - The "Good, not Great" Duo

9.) Cincinnati Bengals  =  6-4  (265-215)

8.) Minnesota Vikings  =  8-2  (229-231)

The only reason I have the Vikings ahead of hte Bengals is some lingering benefit after their win in Buffalo, but I guess I should remember that the Vikings were one inhuman catch from Justin Jefferson - or the first Josh Allen red zone INT - away from losing pretty meekly in Buffalo. Anyway, less said about the Vikings right now the better. For the Bengals, they're a professional outfit who for whatever reason cannot beat the Browns. The over-reliance on Higgins right now isn't great, but should improve with Chase back either this week or hte next. I may have slight concern on the defense, but they have to hope that performance was the outlier, and they revert to their steady "allow 17-24 points every game" level.

Tier X - The "Social Climbers" Duo

7.) Miami Dolphins  =  7-3  (252-241)

6.) San Francisco 49ers  =  6-4  (236-173)

For the Dolphins, people will shout to the moons that they're 7-0 in games that Tua finishes, and you know what: given by most metrics he's having an all-time great efficiency season, I buy it. I don't buy that defense, but Mike McDaniels' scheme, and those weapons, it may not matter. The 49ers are a great team with some hidden pitfalls that could sink them in any given week. To me they are weirdly the highest variance team in the NFL, because so often they can look like they did last night and just crush teams. The defense is healthy again and Shanahan is having a ball integrating all of Aiyuk, Deebo, CMC and Kittle. If that foursome can stay healthy, they can make a big run down the stretch.

Tier XI - The "Yes, there are Great Teams, Pt. 1" Trio

5.) Baltimore Ravens  =  7-3  (248-199)
4.) Dallas Cowboys  =  7-3  (251-167)

3.) Buffalo Bills  =  7-3  (281-174)

Week to week, any team can look not great, but when I look at this season - while maybe we would want more 1-loss or 2-loss teams, I do think there are 5 great teams, five teams that were they tomorrow to play any of the other 27, would be favored and I would feel pretty good about it. Including in this the Ravens that won 13-3 yesterday against my 2nd worst team in the league. Yes that was ugly, but hidden in that was another great defensive performance, with reinforcements on offense on the way back. That game was really never in doubt. For hte Cowboys, that performance puts the league on notice. Dak back and healthy with a great defense is incredible. For the Bills, they really should be 8-2, losing two games that they were 1-play away from winning numerous times. They have no real margin for error given the division, but leaning on the run was a good sign that they may realize they don't need Allen to throw 4-TDs a game and force throws.

Tier XII - The "Yes, There are Great Teams, Pt. 2" Duo

2.) Philadelphia Eagles  =  9-1  (263-183)

1.) Kansas City Chiefs  =  8-2  (300-233)

And then there's these two - tops in each league by record, and while the Cowboys and Bills technically have higher point differentials, I think these two have been quite impresive. Every 13-3 or 14-2 type team generally has a few squeaky wins like hte Eagles just had against the Colts, but they won a game that many teams lose - the sleepy road game in the middle of the season. For the Chiefs, down two receivers (who should come back) and they just pivot to 3TE looks and beat an AFC contender, with the defense looking a bit better each week. A prospect of a potential Andy Reid Bowl for the Super Bowl is quite enticing right now.

Projecting the Playoffs

AFC

1.) Kansas City Chiefs  =  14-3

2.) Buffalo Bills  =  13-4
3.) Baltimore Ravens  =  13-4

4.) Tennessee Titans  =  11-6
5.) Miami Dolphins  =  11-6

6.) Cincinnati Bengals  =  10-7

7.) New England Patriots  =  10-7

NFC

1.) Philadelphia Eagles  =  14-3

2.) Minnesota Vikings  =  13-4

3.) San Francisco 49ers  =  11-6
4.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  =  9-8

5.) Dallas Cowboys  =  13-4

6.) Seattle Seahawks  =  10-7

7.) New York Giants  =  10-7

Looking Ahead to Next Week's Schedule:

16.) Denver Broncos (3-7)  @  Carolina Panthers (3-8)  (1:00 - FOX)

15.) Pittsburgh Steelers (3-7)  @  Indianapolis Colts (4-6-1)  (MNF - ESPN)

I call it "Bad vs. Bad" Sunday and Monday, as we're at the point in teh season I kind of start these rankings with this approach. These are the only two games with two sub-.500 teams, all of which have no real playoff prospects. There are little things to keep watching, be it the continuing frustration of the Russell Wilson era, or the Colts seeing if they can finally beat Pittsburgh in the post-Manning era - yup, it's been since 2008 since the Colts have beaten Pittsburgh.

14.) Chicago Bears (3-8)  @  New York Jets (6-4)  (1:00 - FOX)

13.) Las Vegas Raiders (3-7)  @  Seattle Seahawks (6-4)  (4:05 - CBS)

12.) Houston Texans (1-8-1)  @  Miami Dolphins (7-3)  (1:00 - CBS)
11.) Baltimore Ravens (7-3)  @  Jacksonville Jaguars (3-7)  (1:00 - CBS) 

I call it "Bad vs. Good" Sunday, as we get four games with bad teams playing ones that are either squarely contenders, or in the case of the Jets, hanging on to their playoff bonafides. Chances are at least one of the "bad" teams in this set wins outright, and 1-2 more keep it manageable. Oddly if anything I ranked them in opposite order of how likely it is for the lesser team to win, but I can't go back and change the ranking (I mean I could, but I don't want to).

10.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5)  @  Cleveland Browns (3-7)  (1:00 - FOX)

I call it "Can we call it a Comeback?" Sunday, as the Bucs, off of their bye, try to keep up their winning ways. Of course, I could care less about Tom Brady lucking into the worst division in the NFL, but whatever. The more interesting comeback is the one that is happening after this game. This is the last game the Browns will play before a certain pervert QB comes back. For once, I might be rooting for Brady's team just to put any playoff hopes fully out of reach of Watson as he returns.

9.) Los Angeles Rams (3-7)  @  Kansas City Chiefs (8-2)  (4:25 - FOX)

I call it "54-51 this ain't" Sunday, as the Rams and Chiefs play for the first time since their epic 54-51 MNF game in 2018. It's been an eventful four years since, with both playing in two Super Bowls, and winning one. Unsurprisingly, the Rams have changed up nearly all their roster aside from Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp since that game. More surprsingly, they're so far off the pace of what the Chiefs are at this point. Nostalgia alone had this be ahead of the "bad vs. good" list.

8.) Los Angeles Chargers (5-5)  @  Arizona Cardinals (4-7)  (4:05 - CBS)

7.) New Orleans Saints (4-7)  @  San Francisco 49ers (6-4)  (4:25 - FOX)

I call it "Not sure why I kind of like it" Sunday, as we get two 4-7 teams trying to hang on, with neither looking all that likely to do anything of the sort. I hope Kyler plays bcause at least he puts some interest with Arizona. For the 49ers and Saints, they've played some classics in past, but those were the Drew Brees days.

6.) Atlanta Falcons (5-6)  @  Washington Commanders (6-5)  (1:00 - FOX)

I call it "When Two Averages Enter...." Sunday, as we get a what is to me fascinating game between two "around .500" teams - the soft underbelly of the NFL can be fun especially when they play each other. The Falcons are on the periphery of the NFC South race, but for the Commanders - they quickly find themsevles as the erstwhile #7 seed. Both are somehow fun teams, with wildly different styles. Should be interesting.

5.) Green Bay Packers (4-7)  @  Philadelphia Eagles (9-1)  (SNF - NBC)

I call it "Beat up on Rodgers Revenge Tour" Sunday, as we get another team with their shot to humiliate Aaron Rodgers even more than he's trying to humiliate himself with his passive-agressive performance art this year. For the Eagles, their chance to "get right" against a defense that has generally been very susceptible to the run. The Packers have to sit and take these types of gmaes this year, and there is a certain fun in watching that.

4.) Buffalo Bills (7-3)  @  Detroit Lions (4-6)  (Thanks. - CBS)

3.) New York Giants (7-3)  @  Dallas Cowboys (7-3)  (Thanks. - FOX)

I call it "Aren't We Thankful" Thursday, as we get two good games in our traditional Thanksgiving slate. Yes, there is a chance the Bills dominate the Lions, but generally the Lions are an interesting team and Bills blowouts are more fun than most teams's blowouts. For the Giants and Cowboys, again there is a chance the Cowboys continue their dominant ways, but the Giants are a team that is better than they showed last week and played the Cowboys tough the first time around (granted, in the Cooper Rush days). At the end of the day, its Thanksgiving, so let's have some fun.

2.) Cincinnati Bengals (6-4)  @  Tennessee Titans (7-3)  (1:00 - CBS)

1.) New England Patriots (6-4)  @  Minnesota Vikings (8-2)  (TNF - NBC)

I call it "Competency & Intrigue" Sunday and Thursday, as I might be a broken record in saying that yes there is a chance the Patriots blowout the Vikings, but the Vikings general level of offensive competence (last week obviously excluded) is high enough to trouble the Patriots, and you have to think the Vikings will come out better at home after that performance. For the Bengals nad Titans, a nice AFC Divisional Round rematch, with the prospect of Jamar Chase back. And honestly both teams are to of the Top-10 most entertaining teams to watch.

2022 NFL Season: Week 10 Power Rankings & The Rest

32.) Houston Texans  =  1-6-1  (133-183)

31.) Carolina Panthers  =  2-7  (179-228)
30.) Pittsburgh Steelers  =  2-6  (120-197)

29.) Detroit Lions  =  2-6  (188-234)

28.) Las Vegas Raiders  =  2-6  (183-201)

27.) Indianapolis Colts  =  3-5-1  (132-183)

26.) Denver Broncos  =  4-5  (121-132)

25.) New Orleans Saints  =  3-6  (212-217)

24.) Cleveland Browns  =  3-5  (200-199)
23.) Los Angeles Rams  =  3-5  (131-173)
22.) Washington Commanders  =  4-5  (159-192)
21.) Green Bay Packers  =  3-6  (154-188)

20.) Arizona Cardinals  =  3-6  (203-241)

19.) Chicago Bears  =  3-6  (187-216)

18.) Jacksonville Jaguars  =  3-6  (199-178)

17.) Atlanta Falcons  =  4-5  (217-225)

16.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  =  4-5  (162-164)

15.) New England Patriots  =  5-4  (203-166)
14.) Los Angeles Chargers  =  5-3  (184-206)

13.) San Francisco 49ers  =  4-4  (176-147)

12.) Tennessee Titans  =  5-3  (149-158)
11.) Miami Dolphins  =  6-3  (213-224)
10.) New York Jets  =  6-3  (196-176)
9.) New York Giants  =  6-2  (163-157)

8.) Cincinnati Bengals  =  5-4  (228-185)

7.) Seattle Seahawks  =  6-3  (241-220)

6.) Minnesota Vikings  =  7-1  (193-161)

5.) Baltimore Ravens  =  6-3  (235-196)

4.) Dallas Cowboys  =  6-2  (183-133)

3.) Kansas City Chiefs  =  6-2  (243-189)

2.) Buffalo Bills  =  6-2  (220-118)

1.) Philadelphia Eagles  =  8-0  (225-135)

Looking Ahead to Next Week's Schedule

Byes: Cincinnati Bengals (5-4), New England Patriots (5-4), New York Jets (6-3), Baltimore Ravens (6-3)

14.) Arizona Cardinals (3-6)  @  Los Angeles Rams (3-6)  (4:25 - FOX)

13.) Indianapolis Colts (3-5-1)  @  Las Vegas Raiders (2-6)  (4:05 - CBS)

12.) New Orleans Saints (X-X)  @  Pittsburgh Steelers (2-6)  (1:00 - FOX)

11.) Detroit Lions (2-7)  @  Chicago Bears (3-6)  (1:00 - FOX)

10.) Houston Texans (1-6-1)  @  New York Giants (6-2)  (1:00 - CBS)

9.) Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6)  @  Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)  (1:00 - CBS)

8.) Atlanta Falcons (4-5)  @  Carolina Panthers (3-6)  (TNF - Prime)

7.) Cleveland Browns (3-6)  @  Miami Dolphins (6-3)  (1:00 - CBS)

6.) Denver Broncos (3-5)  @  Tennessee Titans (5-3)  (1:00 - CBS)

5.) Dallas Cowboys (6-2)  @  Green Bay Packers (3-6)  (4:25 - FOX)
4.) Washington Commanders (4-5)  @  Philadelphia Eagles (8-0)  (MNF - ESPN)

3.) Seattle Seahawks (6-3)  @  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)  (9:30am - NFLN)

2.) Minnesota Vikings (7-1)  @  Buffalo Bills (6-2)  (1:00 - FOX)
1.) Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)  @  San Francisco 49ers (4-4)  (SNF - NBC)

Projecting the Playoffs

AFC

1.) Buffalo Bills  =  14-3

2.) Kansas City Chiefs  =  13-4  

3.) Baltimore Ravens  =  12-5

4.) Tennessee Titans  =  10-7

5.) Miami Dolphins  =  11-6

6.) Cincinnati Bengals  =  10-7

7.) New York Jets  =  10-7

NFC

1.) Philadelphia Eagles  =  15-2

2.) Minnesota Vikings  =  13-4

3.) San Francisco 49ers  =  11-6

4.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  =  9-8

5.) Dallas Cowboys  =  12-5

6.) Seattle Seahawks  =  10-7

7.) New York Giants  =  10-7

22 Memories from the 2022 Astros Run

22.) Martin Machete Maldonado

Martin Maldonado is a bad hitter, and was worse than ever this year, with a .600 OPS and a 69 OPS+, but there was never a thought to get him out of the lineup. I guess in theory his defense is good, and his pitch calling and pitch framing are both well above average, but to me the real reason he was in there every day (aside from Christian Vasquez not doing much better) was he is absolutely one of the leaders of this team. He seems to be the crossover player from the five 2017 holdovers, and the newbies to carry this team in the future. Teammates love him. He has a great nickname, a great attitude, and someone who honestly can hit even less than he does, and we'll still love him for it.

21.) Chas McCormick's Weirdness

The back-half of the Astros lineup went through long stretches of badness, but with McCormick as its "leader" it went through stretches of greatness. McCormick was quietly one of the best four hitters for the Astros in the ALCS, with two home runs including a hilarious one that would have onyl gone out in Yankee Stadium, coming right after Aaron Boone got upset about the open roof in Houston. McCormick's weird stance, with half his back to the pitcher, ensures most of his hits are these stringy opposite field liners, which worked far more than it should. Of course how can we overlook the biggest moment of his career to date, his incredible catch to rob at least a double in the bottom of the 9th in Philadelphia. McCormick is in no way George Springer, but he is every bit a dependable, quirky, oddly powerful back-half bat that brought the Astros to this place.

20.) Game 1

The Astros have made it to the World Series 5 times, and are now 0-5 in Game 1s. Through four innings this seemed to be the start of a whole new Astros, but then came the biggest collapse in over a decade in a World Series game. Blowing a 5-0 lead, in just three innings, was bad enough. Having it happen to Justin Verlander, who was trying to win his first World Series game and was great through three innings, made it worse. Making Kyle Tucker's majestic pair of home runs an afterthought was another depressing development. The back half of the game was played with flame throwing reliever after flame throwing reliever culling rallies before they could start, getting us all intimately familiar with the various relievers that would make their presence repeatedly known over the series. It ended with the Phillies stealing a win doing what they do well (Realmuto home run) and what they generally don't (Castellanos's sliding catch saving a certain Astros walk-off win). In the end, other than the doubts it put in my mind for 24 hours, it was a memorable start to an incredible series.

19.) Trey Mancini's Story

To put it bluntly, Trey Mancini's run in Houston has been awful. He had a great start, including multiple home runs in his first few games in Houston, but then went into a terrible slump, and started the postseason 0-18, generally looking helpless. Even if he did nothing, it was still great to see him win the World Series, after battling back from Stage 3 colon cancer which forced him to miss the whole 2020 season. He came back to play well in 2021, and then even if he was mostly a bystander up through Game 4 of the World Series, he was already set-up to be a great story. And then those last two games, with his incredible catch on a potential game-tying hit in the 8th inning of Game 5, having to play the field for the first time in weeks. Then in Game 6, he got his first hit of the postseason. The Mancini trade did not work, but it also did in these small, special ways.

18.) Cristian Javier's Brilliance

If you told me there would be a pitcher who in his two starts across the ALCS and World Series would pitch 11.1 innings, giving up just one hit, with 14 home runs, I would have easily said it was Cristian Javier. He is the most "unhittable" starting pitcher the Astros have, and he literally showed that spearheading the combined no hitter (more on that in a bit). Javier doesn't have the nastiest stuff, but his fastball/sinker/slider combo, all located perfectly, is just magical. Through the year, he had 12 K/9, a WHIP under one, and was generally excellent. The only real knock on him so far is not pitching deep into games, but when he is that good, it doesn't really matter.

17.) The 18-inning game

I've lived through an 18-inning game before, one that if anything was more heart-wrenching than that one. It was in the 2005 NLDS against Atlanta, up 2-1 and the last game at Minute Maid. The Astros tied the game with a crazy grand slam by Brad Ausmus of all people in the 9th, and featured Roger Clemens pitching out of the bullpen and a walkoff by Chris Burke. A lot of that is stuff that aged weirdly. This game was about as absurd, if for its inevitability of how no one would ever score. The fact that Jeremy Pena ended it was quite a foreshadow.

16.) Minute Maid Park coming back to Life

Winning the entire thing in Houston was such a blessing. I've watched the Astros win three ALCSs at home, in 2017, 2019 and 2021. All three were tight series against big bad AL East teams. This was different, this was getting that bandbox the ultimate prize. The Astros were able to turn Minute Maid even louder this time. I still don/t know if it has ever reached the raucous heights it did in 2005, but this came close, particularly Yordan's home run, and of course every single pitch of that 9th inning. Bury me in the sound of Minute Maid Park at its loudest.

15.) Kyle Tucker's steady brilliance

Kyle Tucker may end up with one of the most overlooked, quietest 2-hr world series games with his performance in Game 1, launching two beautiful home runs that should have set up the Astros for a win. He actually was fairly below par the rest of the playoffs, but his defense was quietly brilliant throughout. Kyle Tucker was drafted 5th overall in 2015, the last high draft pick the Astros would get as they worked their way out of their rebuild. It took him a few years but he's steadily now a fulcrum point for the future of this team, breaking out as Springer left. He hasn't matched Springer's postseason brilliance yet, but there's many more years to build it out further.

14.) "The Roof is Open"

The sweep of the Yankees deserves its own memory but this one is more about the Astros becoming the Yankees daddy through and through. Their ridiculousness to blame the open roof and having to deal with wind - of course something they do for 81 games a year when they play at home, in a little league ballpark. Aaron Boone, and moreso catcher Jose Trevino and starter Luis Severino complaining about exit velocities, and the unfairness of life and all of that. The Astros mentally broke the Yankees, and I for sure knew at that point that the series was over.

13.) The Phillies

One of the only redeeming aspects of the World Series that kept me sane, even through the madness that was the Game 1 collapse, was how redeeming the Phillies seemed. I've always had a soft spot for Bryce Harper, and the rest of that offense, from Schwarber to Castellanos, to even Jean Segura are all likable. Even their top pitchers were fun in a way, from the ongoing brilliance of Aaron Nola in recent years, to seeing Zack Wheeler finally succeed after a tough life in New York. The Phillies were a fun team, even if they shared way too many similarities to the 2019 Nats and 2021 Braves for me to truly be calm. If anything, that Game 3 in Philadelphia, seeing their fans and that crowd go insane for all five home runs was still kind of worth it.

12.) Enjoying TBS

There's a weirdness that until this year, in the years FOX had the AL Playoffs, the Astros made it to the World Series (2017, 2019, 2021), but in the years TBS did, they Astros lost in teh ALCS (2018, 2020). Particularly that 2018 series loss to the Red Sox, where the Astros outhit them but couldn't string together hits to save their life, soured me on the TBS setup for no real reason. Well, with this 7-0 romp through the AL, I got to experience them in a new way. The combination of Curtis Granderson, Jimmy Rollins and particularly Pedro, with Ernie are excellent. Them pulling in Carlos Correa randomly for a couple games was nice as well (I continue to hold no ill will towards him leaving). TBS's theme song even grew on me a lot over time. It is no MLB on FOX theme, but it is right up there overall.

11.) Jeremy Pena

This might be low, but in reality somehow the guy who won both the ALCS and World Series MVP is overshadowed by a bunch of other stuff. I do worry that this is a career highpoint, because honestly who knows if it can be topped. Certainly he may have better years, assuming he develops a bit more pitch selectiveness but man was this incredible. Just peerless defense (something he was always going to be strong at) mixed with surprising power and good contact, and a little bit of swagger. It was always going to be tough to come in and replace Correa who was always a postseason beast, but somehow he more than did that.

10.) Alex Bregman growing up

In 2017, Bregman was something of the Pena of that year, a young rookie who had a decent season with the bat but showed out with some incredible defensive plays. He was brash, young, with a huge future. He then exploded into being one of the best hitters in baseball over 2018 and 2019, including a runner up MVP season, but it was the 2020 and 2021 season, beset with injuries that sapped his power and at times has hand speed, that allowed him to grow a bit - grow as a person. The Bregman that was interviewed this posteason was more mature, a true leader - perspective changed from being a husband and now a father. It is odd the most adult thing about him is him continually saying in interviews that he was so overjoyed to "be playing a kids game", but that itself is a mature perspective hardened by years of ups and downs along the way.

9.) The Yankees Sweep

The Astros for all their successes have played a lot of long series deeper in the playoffs. World Series's of seven, seven, six and now again six games. ALCS wins of seven, six and six. But for once they took over from the jump, and just dominated a team - and it had to be the Yankees, the same team they squeaked by in 2017, and beat in six in 2019. That sweep was so fun because of its completeness, from basically a shutout in Game 2 if not for Framber's error, to 8 innings of 1-hit ball in Game 3, to giving the Yankees some life early in Game 4 before stealing their souls. Being in New York, getting to listen to WFAN harangue the team for hours on end. It was all just special.

8.) Framber

What more to say - twice Framber took the mound in critical junctions of this series. First after the Astros blew Game 1 in memorable fashion, and then in Game 6 with a chacne to lock the series down right there and not even give everyone a sniff of thinking it was 2019. And Framber was amazing both times. The Phillies had a good approach, generally forcing him to throw strikes, but Framber's curveball was spinning beautifully, adding up to a perfect performance in both. Personally, I thought Framber should have been World Series MVP, but even if he's not, he's locked down a place in Astros lore as the most trusted World Series starter.

7.) The Dominant Bullpen

The Astros completed the most dominant postseason by a bullpen ever, with a sub-1.00 ERA over 70+ innings. They were as dominant as the numbers made it seem, from the jump of taking over for a bad Verlander in Game 1 in the ALDS, to the 12 innings in relief in Game 3 of the ALDS, to the entire Yankees, to limiting the Phillies to two runs total in teh World Series. It was incredible, and also so foreign. Don't get me wrong, the Astros have had seemingly great bullpens before, but from Brad Lidge's meltdown in 2005 (multiple times), to Ken Giles and Chris Devenski struggling throughout 2017, they were never "lockdown." Well, they were the definition of it this time, and it was so damn calming and reassuring to know they wouild go out and throw straight flames for inning after inning this time around. My cap to you, Hector Neris, Francisco Montera, Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly.

6.) Yordan the Great

It had to be Yordan who put the first touch and last touch with his majestic, "gone the second its hit" home runs. He made history being the first man to whit a walk-off home run with his team trailing by more than one in a playoff game in the first game. And he made further history by being hte fist man to hit a home run that damn beautiful in the World Series capper. Yordan Alvarez is arguably the best move the Astros ever made, picking him up on a whim for Josh Fields, and him turning into one of the best, most complete, most peerless hitters in baseball. They signed him up long term earlier in the season and he paid off already. What a player, what a beautiful, giant, startlingly good player.

5.) Game 5

Well, this was a far cry from Game 5 in 2017, still the greatest single baseball game I've ever seen. I to be honest it wasn't one that will live on in the minds of many, but that was such a great baseball game in every way. It had tons of guys on base nearly every inning, especially with Justin Verlander getting the monkey off his back fighting through baserunners. It had majestic home runs from Schwarber and others. It had good pitching on both sides. It had Jeremy Pena's home run to break a 1-1 tie that likely secured his MVP. It had Pressly putting out a Phillies rally with the help of an insane defensive play by Trey Mancini out of position, and of course had another Phillies rally ended with the great catch by McCormick. It had everything, and of course for me made better by the Astros ultimately coming out on top. It was just a beautiful game of baseball in every way.

4.) Justin Verlander's "Moment?"

Justin Verlander hadn't won a World Series game - had you heard about that? Now he has, doing the minimum in terms of outs to do it, but he has it. The weirdness is how little people talked about it until this year - though I think that has to do with (1) him having won a World Series and (2) having a litany of great playoff performances in other rounds. But in the end, it was a real issue, and it was great to see him get that win. After the series ended, he seemed far more emotional than I expected, but it made sense when he talked about his basically two years away rehabbing from Tommy John, and living at home becoming a better husband, father, person and ultimatley pitcher. If that was his final moment as an Astro, it was a perfect one. If he's back, then even better.

3.) Dusty Baker getting his Ring

I remember Game 6 2002, watching Dusty's Giants take a 6-1 lead in the game into the 8th inning and see the Angels steal it away in a flash, before winning Game 7. I remember 2003, when the Bartman incident and the Cubs collapse happened. I don't remember as vividly his exploits in Cincinnati and Washington where his teams lost in the playoffs in the NLDS four times, but I remember him consistently having to face that misery and be replaced, only for his replacement every time save Washington be worse. But now, he has his ring, the one achievement he hadn't yet reached. And he did it in a truly value-add way, providing security, calmness and a commanding presence when he took over in 2020, which has continued to now, and then becoming realistically a decent tactical manager. Dusty Baker was making the hall of fame long before yesterday, but now he's doing it with "World Series Manager" on his plaque.

2.) The World Series No-Hitter

The best part of the no-hitter to me was that if the Astros did end up losing the World Series, at least we would have that memory. It wouldn't replace winning it, and certainly having won it it's even better, but man was that an amazing game to watch. Javier did it already against hte Yankees in the regular season and you could tell he had it all going early. It was the ultimate statement, to go into a place where the Phillies hadn't lost all postseason, including the five home runs in Game 3, and no hit the Phillies. I get the idea that a combined no-hitter isn't as "cool" as a regular no-hitter, but any sort of no-hitter in the World Freaking Series is an incredible, three-times-in-multiple-lifetime's type achievement, and my team did it to regain the momentum that led to ultimately winning the World Series. 

1.) The Dynasty to come?

The Astros aren't a dynasty. Two titles in six years, even with two other trips to the World Series, and two other trips to the ALCS (ok, I'm starting to shift to the other side even while writing this....) is not yet a dynasty. Specifically when the first title is, fair or not, tainted. But maybe this is more the beginning than the end. We talk about how just five guys are left from 2017, but at least three of them are still in their primes, and generally most of the people that have left from 2017 have been replaced adequately. A lot of this will come down to (1) can the young set of starters in Framber, Javier, McCullers and further out Luis Garcia and the likes stay healthy, (2) can Pena and McCormick continue to get better to supplement Tucker and Yordan as new superstars and (3) can the Astros continue to find a bevy of plug-in-and-out relievers. If they can do all three, they should be great for years to come. I might be getting ahead of myself, but somehow a six year run is nothjing more than finding a team's dynastic run at its middle, its peak, with eyes firmly fixed on the future. For the first time since 2018, I'm truly counting down the days to pitchers and catchers reporting again.

The First Time for the Second Time

I'll be writing more about the Astros win in a bit, but I did have a weird realization late last night watching the postgame celebration: this was like winning it for the first time, a second time. 2017 happened. I loved it at the time. Countless hours, nervously pacing around in a dark basement, watching long, dramatic, brilliant games between the Dodgers and Astros, only to have it end with a triumphant Game 7 victory in LA. But as we all know, that team cheated.

Maybe it was overblown, maybe other teams were doing it. Many analyses have been made showing that the trash-can banging scheme had fairly limited effect on the Astros hitters, and in some cases was counterproductive (the sign-stealing wasn't 100% accurate every time). But it didn't matter. It didn't matter for the non-Astros baseball fans who took the signal to mercilessly hate on the Astros and ran with it. And for me, and I do think a subset of Astros fans, those 2017 memories are a bit tainted to. My memories of those moments in 2017 are still beautiful, but I have to stay in 2017 to realize that.

If people want to say that the Astros 2017 title doesn't count, or has an asterisk - well fine. We will never win that argument. But if that's the case, then 2022 can get livened up for being the first "real" title. I will never forget the first time I saw my team win a title, and I definitely won't forget the second either.

That game itself was a perfect representation of what the Astros have become since 2017. The holdovers from that team either didn't play in Game 6, or had minimal impact on this game (though both Bregman and Altuve had great world series's). It was the new guys leading the way, from Framber pitching another gem, turning his strikeout stuff up to 11 again. It was of course Yordan's incredible, perfect home run - hit so well it would've been a home run even in the old days of Tal's Hill. The majesty of that moment, of Framber and three relievers locking it down. That was the moment I've been chasing since the day we found out about the cheating scandal.

It was also the first time for a second time because this was the first time winning it in Houston. In 2017 they did it in LA. Being the real first world series I got to experience, I didn't mind at the time. But I minded more when in 2019 and 2021, I saw other teams celebrate World Series wins on the Astros turf. As I grew older as a sports fan, I am someone who has somewhat been able to walk away from the "Championship or Nothing" mindset, and in both of those two years (and in 2017 also), I saw the Astros win their ALCS title in Houston, but those two World Series losses were tough to take.

That is all in rear-view mirror. Seeing the Astros fans standing for basically the last three innings. Seeing the build up in the 9th inning, with finally a trustable closer to get the last three outs. Hearing the crowd pent up every bit of hate they had to imbibe for three years, ready to let it all out, as Castellanos hit that fly ball and Kyle Tucker tracked it down. That moment, that incredible outpouring of emotion and happiness, is a memory that will last a lifetime.

The Astros have been probably the team I've followed more ardently longer than any other. In football it shifted from the Colts to the Broncos and back, all the while with some fleeting memories of my childhood dalliances with the Raiders. In basketball there's a respectful fandom of the Spurs, but nothing that cut to the core. There's the Devils, but the fact I was fairly OK with their decade of irrelevance following their 2012 Cup Final run (though, they've been amazing so far). But it's been Houston ever since 2002 or so.

Starting from Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, cresting with teh 2005 World Series run, and another half decade sliding into mediocrity. Then through the worst three year tank/rebuild ever, though in retrospect a mercilessly effective one. From the little glimpses of hope in 2014, when George Springer was called up, Dallas Keuchel refound himself and Jose Altuve having his breakout. And then as it took off in 2015, with Carlos Correa getting called up. It's been great since then, but it was great all along. And the best part is twenty years on, there's still moments like last night, getting to experience things for the first time. May that never change.

2022 NFL: Week 9 Power Rankings & The Rest

Tier I - The "Bryce Young Sweepstakes" Duo

32.) Houston Texans  =  1-5-1  (116-154)

31.) Detroit Lions  =  1-6  (173-225)

There are only two one-loss teams, and both are about that bad in reality in my mind. The Texans just need more talent, and the Lions need a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball. It was nice to see hte Lions offense move the ball again after two completely fallow weeks. I don't think there's any pressure on Lovie Smith,  but I've finally started hearing negativity around Dan Campbell. Needs to be some, to be honest.

Tier II - The "Just Not Good" Duo

30.) Pittsburgh Steelers  =  2-6  (120-197)

29.) Carolina Panthers  =  2-6  (158-186)

The Steelers and Panthers brief honeymoons of beating Tampa are a thing of the past. For the Panthers, they easily could have won, but I do wonder how long the interim-coach bump will last. It seems like DJ Moore is going to stay, but losing McCaffrey and having to start PJ Walker certainly will impact them at some point. For the Steelers, its becomign more and more inevitable that the Tomlin .500+ streak is going to come to an end. More than that, oddly specific, blunt criticism from Steeler players themselves that the team isn't prepraing enough. Don't know if that's to throw shade on an increasingly embattled Matt Canada.

Tier III - The "Worse than they should be" Trio

28.) Arizona Cardinals  =  3-5  (182-210)

27.) Las Vegas Raiders  =  2-5  (163-174)

26.) Jacksonville Jaguars  =  2-6  (172-158)

There's a huge chasm of teams in the middle, and these three are interesting to me because they really should be better than they are given how they've performed. This is more true of the Raiders (-11 point differential) and Jaguars (still somehow positive at +14), who have paired close losses for the most part with two fairly convincing wins. The Jags are way more worrisome, as Lawrence looks worse each week after a decent start. Everything that has happened since taking that 14-0 lead in Philadelphia has been a disaster. The Cardinals look so much better with Hopkins back, and a healthy Watt. They're probably already too far behind to go anywhere, but its nice having Nuke making ridiculous catches again. For the Raiders, there is a chance that loss is the start of McDaniels becoming Denver McDaniels again in terms of the team maybe checking out.

Tier IV- the "Truly worse than they should be" Duo

25.) Indianapolis Colts  =  3-4-1  (129-157)
24.) Denver Broncos  =  3-5  (121-132)

So, the Sam Ehrlinger experience was interesting, but the Colts biggest issue is still a lack of explosion on offense, adn the more and more we watch, the clearer and clearer the fault seems to be on that ridiculously expensive OL not performing well. The Colts defense consistently plays well, but the OL can't let the offense get out of first gear. For the Broncos, a close win over Jacksonville is not enough for suddenly problems to be fixed. Wilson looked slightly better, having 3-4 drives where it all looked in rhythm, but also a fair amount of 3-and-outs and an ugly pick.

Tier V - The "Suddenly rising quasi-contenders" Quadro

23.) Chicago Bears  =  3-5  (155-181)
22.) Cleveland Browns  =  4-4  (200-199)

21.) Atlanta Falcons  =  4-4  (200-205)

20.) Washington Commanders  =  4-4  (142-172)

The Bears blowout may have looked ugly, but what I also saw was a Fields-led offense move the ball consistently against what was one of the best defenses in the league. The turnovers ballooned the final score, but the team's ability to move the ball is definitely promising. The Browns MNF performance was dominant, but also something the Browns can build off of. That was the best game they've played in the trenches in some time. Especially their OL. That was a dominant performance even in pass protection. For the Falcons, technically they're now alone in 1st place, but the defense is a problem without AJ Terrell. The offense will score around 24 points each week, but with the way the defense is currently playing, that will result in a decent amount of losses. For the Commanders, it might be too little, too late after the 1-4 start, but Heinecke looks OK, the OL looks better and Terry McLaurin is being unleased. If/When Chase Young gets back they could go on a bit of a run. The dream of all 4 NFC East teams making the playoffs is not dead yet.

Tier VI - The "This is why people say the league is bad" Trio

19.) Los Angeles Rams  =  3-4  (118-157)

18.) Green Bay Packers  =  3-5  (145-173)
17.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  =  3-5  (146-151)

Admittedly, it being a bit kitschy to group these three together, but they all have a similar theme: these were the three best teams in the NFC last year, and two have already exceeded their loss total from 2021 (Packers, Buccaneers) and the Rams are well on the way. All three are not good. Each had a clear opportunity to make a statement against a better team, and all three failed quite badly. The Rams had a little energy early but lost easily by 17. The Packers are getting praised for their performance in a game they lost by 10 and were down 7-24 at halftime. And the Bucs led 10-3 but then found themselves down 27-16, as they too weren't really all that competitive. Sure, there is enough time for things to change, but right now these are just middling teams.

Tier VII - The "Not sure what's going on" Quadro

16.) New Orleans Saints  =  3-5  (199-200)

15.) Los Angeles Chargers  =  4-3  (164-189)
14.) New England Patriots  =  4-4  (177-163)

13.) New York Jets  =  5-3  (176-159)

12.) Cincinnati Bengals  =  4-4  (186-164)

So hard to know what to do with these teams. The Saints are two games under .500, but have generally played well when not throwing two pick-sixes. Kamara is getting healthier, and Andy Dalton looks comfortable in that offense. For the Chargers, by record they deserve to be here. By performance they don't. This is a vote in trust of Herbert, but him being this long into the season with a ypc under 10. Something has to give. For the Patriots and Jets, for sure we can leave wondering what the hell Zach Wilson was doing on those last two picks, but Jones didn't look all that great either. The two teams are fairly similar in my mind, but I have a bit more trust in teh Jets defense, to be honest. For the Bengals, I'm truly worried about what that performance means for the rest of their time without Chase. Maybe it was a confluence of that and this just being one of those games, but that was a awful performance. There's time to make it up, but they need to piling up wins in this stretch - in a way maybe the worst time to have to miss JaMarr.

Tier VIII - The "They can't keep doing this" Duo

11.) New York Giants  =  6-2  (163-157)

10.) Tennessee Titans  =  5-2  (132-138)

9.) Seattle Seahawks  =  5-3  (210-199)

The Giants were understandably fallow on offense missing like every skill position guy apart from Saquon. I still trust that offense to score enough given how consistently good the defense is. Hopefully they get some of those guys back. For Tennessee, it will be a great test to see them in Kansas City next week - more on that later. For the Seahawks, at some point the offense has to be trusted to keep more or less this level of production up, and their defense has quietly been really good the last handful of games. Their young secodnary players didn't have the most challenging opponents this week, but have been great so far.

Tier IX - The "Not sure what we have here" Uno

8.) Miami Dolphins  =  5-3  (178-192)

There's a lot of weirdness for Miami. They are 4-0 in games that Tua finishes, but two of those were quite miraculous wins (Bills, Ravens). They were not good at all without Tua. With Tua back, they should be good, but the defense has struggled for many weeks now, with some of the early season pass rush success having quieted down significantly in recent weeks. The Dolphins with Tua are clearly a good team, but I do think the "4-0 with a healthy Tua" is a bit overstating their true talent and ability.

Tier X - The "Just Plain Good" Trio

7.) San Francisco 49ers  =  4-4  (176-147)

6.) Baltimore Ravens  =  5-3  (208-183)

The 49ers inexplicable 14-28 loss to Atlanta is really hurting things right now. Aside from that game, they've been a very reasonably good team in every other game. McCaffrey is being used well and when Deebo gets back they will be frightening to match up with. XXXXXXXXXXXXX. The Ravens win against Tampa was a super impressive win, especially keeping their control after many missed opportunities in the first half. Their run game in the second half was incredible, as the OL has really started to set them up well. The pass rush is starting to improve again. Health is a tremendous thing. This is the Ravens we all expected last year.

Tier XI - The "I don't know what to think" Uno

5.) Minnesota Vikings  =  6-1  (173-144)

So, on one hand you have a team that is 6-1, with the only loss being on the road to the undefeated team (albeit, a loss that they looked terrible in). The wins, while not being dominant, are generally be a decent amount (only two were by less than a TD). The team has a lot of good players, and unexpected contributions like a sudden revival of Patrick Peterson. The Vikings are good, but they are so hard to get behind. Be it like this past game, or the one against Chicago a few weeks back, where a great start becomes a closer-than-it-should win. Or just a lack of trust in Kirk Cousins over the course of a season. It is hard to really "love" the Vikings, despite the record. They have a tough next 4-5 weeks (before a pretty easy end), but the Vikings are almost certainly winning this division.

Tier XII - The "Cream of the Crop, Pt. 1" Duo

4.) Dallas Cowboys  =  6-2  (183-133)

3.) Kansas City Chiefs  =  5-2  (223-172)

People will forever say that there are no good teams or whatever, but the top-4 is actually quite strong in my eyes. The Cowboys two losses are a strange opening night loss (forgiveable) and a loss to the undefeated Eagles. For the Chiefs, it was their own inexplicable loss due to losing their kicker against Indy, and to the best in the league Bills. Aside from that, both have been fantastic. Dak looks good and with him that offense can complement what has remained a top five defense. For the Chiefs, they have the best offense in the league by a decent amount by most metrics, and the defense should start getting healthier. Both are in great position - I guess the Cowboys only issue is that they share a division with one of the teams ahead of them.

Tier XIII - The "Cream of the Crop, Pt. 2" Duo

2.) Philadelphia Eagles  =  7-0  (196-118)
1.) Buffalo Bills  =  6-1  (203-98)

This is the first week I gave at least a moment to consider if I should have the Eagles over the Bills. In the end, the fact that the Eagles have played a far easier schedule has me keeping the Bills at the top spot, but the Eagles point differential is now approaching what you would want a 7-0 type team to be. Hurts is starting to open it up. What is tough is they really don't have a challenging schedule at all. They can go like 14-3 with great underlying numbers and still not really "proven" themselves. For the Bills, there were some troubling signs, like Allen's two bad interceptions, and a disappointing OL performance, and the Poyer injury (though it seems it might be OK). Of course, this is a game that they won by 10, and probably would win by more if not for those Allen bone-headed picks and some acrobat catches by Packers' WRs. The Bills are dominant, but they have to be cleaner.

Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games

Byes: Cleveland Browns (3-5), Dallas Cowboys (6-2), Denver Broncos (3-5), New York Giants (6-2), Pittsburgh Steelers (2-6), San Francisco 49ers (4-4)

13.) Las Vegas Raiders (2-5)  @  Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6)  (1:00 - CBS)

12.) Green Bay Packers (3-5)  @  Detroit Lions (1-6)  (1:00 - FOX)

I call it "Bad vs. Bad" Sunday, as

11.) Philadelphia Eagles (7-0)  @  Houston Texans (1-5-1)  (TNF - Prime)

10.) Indianapolis Colts (3-4-1)  @  New England Patriots (4-4)  (1:00 - CBS)
9.) Minnesota Vikings (6-1)  @  Washington Commanders (4-4)  (1:00 - FOX)

I call it "it's that time of year" Thursday and Sunday, as 

8.) Carolina Panthers (2-6)  @  Cincinnati Bengals (4-4)  (1:00 - FOX)

7.) Los Angeles Chargers (4-3)  @  Atlanta Falcons (4-4)  (1:00 - FOX)

I call it "The Middle is OK" Sunday, as

6.) Los Angeles Rams (3-4)  @  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)  (4:25 - CBS)

I call it "What, what.... what happened" Sunday, as

5.) Seattle Seahawks (5-3)  @  Arizona Cardinals (3-5)  (4:05 - FOX)
4.) Miami Dolphins (5-3)  @  Chicago Bears (3-5)  (1:00 - CBS)

I call it "Somewhat Good vs. Somewhat Bad = Intrigue" Sunday, as

3.) Buffalo Bills (6-1)  @  New York Jets (5-3)  (1:00 - CBS)

2.) Tennessee Titans (5-2)  @  Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)  (SNF - NBC)

I call it "Finally, some good v good games!" Sunday, as

1.) Baltimore Ravens (5-3)  @  New Orleans Saints (3-5)  (MNF - ESPN)

I call it "Don't really know why, but sign me up" Monday, as

The Calm Before the Storm

Early in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Mariners, with me stuck at work in an all-hands meeting, I had friends text me about how Verlander was getting rocked. Of course it was out of friendly hate, but I had a weird response that I actually think at the time was honest: that I didn't care, and I was ok if they lost to Seattle. For one, watching the Mariners run to the playoffs was fun - always fun to watch a fanbase that had gone without success for so long experience it. But mostly, because I was kind of OK with the idea of not having nerve-wracking, blood-pressure-raising October and November nights. Too many of these from 2017 to 2021, some special (if some later tarred by scandal), and some awful.

October baseball is a special type of excruciating joy. It isn't the minute to minute heart attacks of say playoff hockey, but the slow burn of watching outs go by, counting them down or up from basically the third inning onwards. Five straight years of dealing with it, including five straight trips to the ALCS, three World Series trips, and one somewhat tarnished World Series title. That's a great return, but also a whole lot of nightly drama to take in one month a year. I was ok with avoiding all of that this year. And then Yordan hit a truly unique walk-off home run, and I forgot about all that and wanted it back.

From there on, going through the ridiculous machinations of the 18-inning game, escaping ten successive innings of potential walk-offs, to the entirety of the Astros confident, efficient sweep of the Yankees (more on that in a bit), I was fully back in on rooting for this team. And it really is a team, more than the 25 players on this years roster, tis franchise. This franchise that has changed 20 of 25 people since 2017 but still got to at least this point each of the last six years. And even if I'm setting myself up for heartbreak, much like 2019 and 2021 (more to come on that in a bit as well), I don't mind it - just a week left of more drama, heartburn and chewing fingernails.

As I sit here two days before the start of the 2022 World Series, I am fully at peace knowing I will for a week not be at peace. Especially the way this started, with teh Astros going 7-0 heading into the World Series. The Astros are easily the favorites, having a far better regular season, an undefeated start to the playoffs, and a deep, deep pitching staff that should shut down any team. But then again, the warning signs are all over.

Some are more ephemeral - the similarity of having to face another NL East Team that had a ridiculous second half run after a slow start, basically the same recipe that the Nationals and Braves had entering their prior world series. Some are more legitimate - the fact that the entire Phillies offense has been red hot and their wild bullpen has dropped their walk rate and started locking down games. There are signs.

But what is baseball if there weren't. All playoffs long we heard about how random it has all become, as we saw three 100+ win teams knocked out on the NL side of the bracket. Some blamed the expanded playoffs with two more teams, not realizing that doesn't really explain the Dodgers or Braves. Some sighted the extended "bye" for the top seeds, despite three of the four teams winning their game 1 off of their bye. But while all that madness was happening, the Astros plugged along, and calmly ripped out the Yankees.

In retrospect, the Astros were much better than the Yankees, but for sure I spent a bit of time worrying about things. Unlike 2019, the Astros played well in Game 1, and much like 2017, they won the first two games in tight, well played games. The biggest drama being Framber Valdez's double-error, and Aaron Judge blaming the roof for being open. But then I remembered 2017, when the Astros turned those two close wins in Houston into three awful, soulless, haunted losses in New York. That was my intro to the AL in a way. This year was my intro into accepting that for all the Astros faults, and even if we do lose a third World Series - we owned the Yankees.

We can do that, but that doesn't mean we will win this world series. But it doesn't matter. It's about these runs. It's about being a fan of the Patriots of the MLB (another World Series Title would help in that comparison, for sure), being a fan of a team that makes four World Series in six years. Sure, I can complain about the heartache and heartbreak. I can complain about the ruined October nights, but I need to learn to love those October nights, love those quiet innings, those 30 seconds in between pitches, when the mind races to all the outcomes. There should be enjoyment in the pain, the process, the waiting.

At this point, I don't really know what I'm saying, though that is generally a decent reflection of the inner thoughts of a baseball fan whose team is playing deep into October. There are a lot of unknowns, a lot of worries, a lot of potential. I'm ready to get my heart broken again, but more than ready to remember the memories of this 7-0 run, and the ALCS wins in 2019 and 2020, or the comeback to force Game 7 in 2020. This can be a culmination, or a continuation, but what happened should be enjoyed nonetheless.